Stressmagnet

Hey, hey, hey. You take that back. I don't want it Ok. You're NOT the kind of nutjob that would furnish their house with ersatz banners and replicas. I just know it :D

That is butt ugly but very dire wolf/dragonesque. Some GOT nutjob will snap it up. Where do you find these things???

As I inderstsnd it, breeders sell pet dogs on limited register because they didn't make the cut for a show dog or as a breeding animal -- hence 'not bettering the breed'. Or am I confused? Ernie has heaps of champions in his ancestry and to a layman like me - he's beautuful. However he is slightly cow hocked, so why pass that on?

Beautiful portrait.

Ahem. LABRADOR cross. This is such a great story. Thanks for posting.

Sleeping with Ernie in his crate next to my bed is like sleeping with an 80 yr old man. He snores like a freight train, snores, yips, growls and gallops in his sleep. I'm sure if I was his wife, I'd have insisted on separate bedrooms by now. I know what you mean about the growling - he doesn't do it often but when he does, I'm instantly awake and snapping the light on for intruders. He just looks at my sleepily like 'what da ...'. Ernie's not even a year yet so I'm eagerly awaiting what the years bring.

I'm having same issues with my 11 mo old lab. His tecall has failed utterly out and about -- all else is still pretty great. Ugh. I hate the thought of putting him on s long line again.

Why would you pay $1400 for a dog just to abuse and neglect it? I don't understand how some people think.

I just ordered 3 months worth for Ernie. I'm going to give it a try especially since that dog can find water to jump into no matter where I take him for walks -- and I go to some pretty "ticky" looking places. Even though I check him every night, I'm worried I'll forget or miss something. Hopefully he tolerates it well. He does seen to have an iron gut - I noticed a bright pink clothes peg this morning. I'm obviously not checking the yard thoroughly enough when I put him out.

Wow.

Blackhawk gave my labrador the runs so he's on Canidae as RC gave him horrible wind. He did like it though.

And don't forget - the site and dam may have excellent hip scores but if you let your pup jump and bound up and down steps excessively - you could be causing arthritis/dysphasia all on your own. Ernie's parents both have very low hip/elbow scores but his breeder warned me against letting him jog with the girls; leap into and out of the car boot; jump on and off hard surfaces and race up and down staurs until he was at least a year old. Edited to say: Actually, you DOLers did too.

That made me cry. There ARE good people in the world who do good things. Hurrah for Arthur who not only has a great name but from what looks like it, a great home.

Omg. I'm squeeing like 15 year old at a One Direction concert.

If this was for me Don - you're probably right. But I bought my boy when I was doing chemo and its not his fault he's got a sick hooman mum. Thete was a brief window 5 months ago where there was a hope I might get well - and I celebrated prematurely by getting Ernie. It's ok, we get wet and then come home and use it as an excuse to watch Mad Men reruns and drink hot chocolate. And he does so bring me such joy when he's racing around determined to catch a magpie. Ps. And yeah I've made really good plans for him when I go.

In so sorry.

Ernie is a typical lab gobbler. I use a slow down bowl and it helps, but his dinner is still gone in 2inutes. I used to feed twice a day but he's (gasp!) become uninterested in food in the morning. Can't figure out why - his dinner is at 6pm so he should be hungry. My only thought is that the kennel he recently boarded at fed only once a day. But back to slowing them down... I may try a muffin tray. Throwing on the grass doesn't work as he's too lazy.

Lol I wish mine would adopt a princess style attitude. Mine don't care if its rain, hail or shine, we walk Ernie too. Of course it helps HIS coat is waterproof. . . . Eau de Wet Labradore - who could I sell that to?

I'm sending prayers and crossing everything that it works out. How heartbreaking.

Gumboots and the most unattractive rain slicker known to humanity. Unless I'm feeling unwell, Ernie is now getting his wallkies, rain or shine. I keep a couple of old towels in the boot of my car to dry him off. The smell of wet labrador can be... Overpowering.

I know. Some of the labrador people are the worst.. I was on a group on fb for breeder evaluations as i am trying to learn about dog structure, i had to leave as all of the labs there I would easily term obese, some morbidly so. And then someone posted a gorgeous fit lab and was bashed for it And i bet Ernie could run rings around their dogs! ETA: Cavs are sadly the same Stressmagnet Yup. I have a friend with an elderly Cav and in my opinion, he could lose a kilo or two and be a much happier fellow. Dogs will eat whatever you give them. Ernie likes everything but why wouldn't he? Just because something tastes nice doesn't mean you feed it to your dog! The rule in our house WAS 'no people food, ever'. Of course that got broken the first time the girls had a sleepover and Ernie discovered potato chips. But just cos he likes them, doesn't mean that's what he gets. And I'm trying to trim about a kilo off him. To my great embarassment, the girls misinterpreted my feeding instructions and the little guts has been getting extra food. So more exercise, less food. No fat dog has a good life. The pain on the joints and the lack of ability cannot be fun for them. Or maybe all the cheese and table scraps and potato chips are worth it?

Probably not but an understanding of what is typical breed behaviour is not a bad thing. Thinking your pup will be different can be the fast track to heartache. After all, its why breeds were developed - to increase the odds of getting selected characteristics. Times have changed and some of those characteristics are less desirable now but many dogs of a breed will still have them. I'd cheerfully generalise that most bull breeds are utterly bomb proof when it comes to kids if they are raised and socialised correctly. I am very happy to recommend them as family dogs but that recommendation comes with a caution about dog aggression. The yin and the yang of those breeds. There are plenty of other examples in other breeds. What a great reply. Thank you for commonsense. I've met lovely Staffies at dog parks. I've also met ones that scared the crap out of me. I owned a lovely dog who I could never trust off leash because of her low tolerance for bad doggy manners and the fact she was 22kgs of sold muscle and was determined to finish any fight that got started. No where have I said ALL AMSTAFFS are DA. But I agree that anecdotal evidence (even mine) is not enough. I wish more breeders would contribute to the discussion as that's where the in depth knowledge would be so valuable to the pet owners on here. I will not generalise ALL amstaffs based on my beloved Georgia - just that despite doing heaps of breed research (I thought) at the time - when she decided at such a young age that her tolerance for silly dogs was low - I was flummoxed. Here was a well socialised dog who simply decided she was not going to tolerate most dogs anymore. I spent a ton of money on behaviourists and I'm so proud of where we got with her -- but had I realised that despite this, she would always be a cranky pants, I would have talked my ex into a different dog. He, by the way, was the type who bought her a spiked collar and I'm sure un-did a lot of the time I put in with her, but that's another irrelevant anecdote. The OP asked if we thought another AmStaff would be a suitable companion. Sure! With the right breeding, there's a chance it would. But in my opinion, thete's also s chance it WOULDNT. There are so many other breeds of dog out there that have LESS likelihood of finishing fights or being grumpy with other dogs, and don't have the muscle to finish what gets started. And Zig looks gorgeous. If I was 20 years younger, knowing what I know now - I'd get another AmStaff in a heartbeat.

Yup. Georgia was a wonderful dog but there are many many badly socialised dogs out there and she was having none of it. And the thing to remember is - an AmStaff will ALWAYS be blamed, no matter what provocation or which dog was the aggressor. I used to watch idiots let their dog come charging up to her and I'd be yelling 'control your dog' and they'd just laugh and say 'oh she's friendly'. Then teach her some damn manners so my dog doesn't feel threatened. Which is why, after Georgia died, I went for a goofy labrador who just shrugs off bad dog manners and takes himself out of the frame. Of course, I've still put the work in with him that I did with Georgia, but I bet HE wouldn't get automatically blamed if there was some nastiness. glad you got a labrador, american staff dont belong in a dog park. My original post a bunch of pages ago said I never ever took Georgia to a dog park. EVER. There are people on my own street who walk their dogs off leash past my house and yard. There are people who let their dogs off leash at every opportunity - to hell with the signs. I was a responsible Staffie owner. And there's no disgrace or inferiority in owning a Lab. :D

Yup. Georgia was a wonderful dog but there are many many badly socialised dogs out there and she was having none of it. And the thing to remember is - an AmStaff will ALWAYS be blamed, no matter what provocation or which dog was the aggressor. I used to watch idiots let their dog come charging up to her and I'd be yelling 'control your dog' and they'd just laugh and say 'oh she's friendly'. Then teach her some damn manners so my dog doesn't feel threatened. Which is why, after Georgia died, I went for a goofy labrador who just shrugs off bad dog manners and takes himself out of the frame. Of course, I've still put the work in with him that I did with Georgia, but I bet HE wouldn't get automatically blamed if there was some nastiness.

Ernie's best friend who plays bitey face and chaseys is an English/american cocker cross. They run for an hour before flopping exhausted. He also gently plays with an elderly Cav who desperately wants to join in but hasn't the energy anymore.